Sudan's Bashir meets Egypt defense minister in Khartoum

CAIRO

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Monday met with Egyptian Defense Minister Mohamed Zaki in Khartoum to discuss means of enhancing military cooperation, according to an Egyptian army statement.

At the meeting, Zaki reportedly stressed the “deep ties” between the two countries, hailing what he described as “converging of points-of-view regarding the many challenges and security threats facing the region”.

While in Khartoum, the Egyptian defense minister also met with Sudanese counterpart Awad Mohamed bin Awf -- who also called for military cooperation with Cairo -- and Sudanese Army Chief-of-Staff Kamal Abdul Mawrouf.

Sudan-Egypt relations soured slightly last year due to ongoing differences between the two sides, especially in regards to the security situation in neighboring Libya.

Relations, however, have picked up since March, when al-Bashir paid a visit to Cairo, which was followed by two separate visits to Khartoum -- in June and October -- by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.